Demands
by timydamonkey
Summary: What if the Eternal Dragon decided to stop giving wishes for free? What if he wanted something in return? An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, they say… How about a life for a life? TEMPORARY HIATUS.
1. New Policy

**Demands:**

**One-shot:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.**

**A/N: I got the idea for this fic while writing about what happens in Chapter 14 of Past Relived. If you like this, look out for that chapter, if not the whole fic. I thought what if Shenron went… well, more evil and OOC? It doesn't seem fair that the Z senshi just have to collect seven balls then can get practically whatever they desire. And in this fic, people can be revived more than once and Mirai Trunks didn't die. So, now the dragon's tired of it, and is inventing some 'terms and conditions.'**

**Likely to contain some Gohan angst. Set just after the Cell Games. Somewhat AU, as it doesn't follow the series. Kind of like one of those odd 'Angst/Humour' fics. Hard to fit them both into a fic usually… The humour's mostly there to lighten the mood. Probably more 'General/Angst' though.**

**Very short. Anyway, enjoy:**

"ETERNAL DRAGON, BY YOUR NAME I SUMMON YOU FORTH: SHENRON!" yelled Bulma.

The sky darkened. The Z senshi looked around. They were on Kami's lookout, which looked very different with the sky so black…

The dragonballs glowed and a green, very impressive looking dragon shot out of them: Shenron.

"Before you make a wish," said Shenron, staring at Bulma. "You must know that there are some new terms and conditions concerning the dragonballs."

"Sure," said Bulma. She wasn't really concentrating, no one was. They were all just thinking about the wish they were about to make. No one thought to ask Shenron what the terms and conditions where, and the dragon chose not to elaborate. If they didn't want to know, that was their decision… Everyone looked at Gohan, ready to let him make the wish. Gohan smiled.

"I wish you would bring my father, Son Goku, back to life," he said simply.

The gang expected a 'your wish has been granted', nothing like what happened. Shenron practically ignored what had been said. Instead, he replied, "how much do you care about your father, Son Gohan?"

"A lot." Gohan's answer was immediate.

The dragon stared at him for a moment, before finally questioning, "Enough to die for him?"

"Yes," said Gohan firmly, though he felt a little shaky. In truth, he just didn't know. It wasn't like he'd ever been put in that position… but if he was, he would die, right? He wondered why Shenron was asking him.

"You would die in order to bring your father back to life?" the dragon sounded surprised.

"What do you mean?" asked Bulma before he said anything.

"An eye for an eye," said the dragon. Everyone looked confused. Shenron sweatdropped, and opted to explain as quickly as he could. "With the dragonballs you restore many lives, leaving few dead. At first it wasn't so bad, but now it effecting the natural order of the planet too heftily. You are damaging the planet, although your intentions are good, so now we use an eye for an eye policy. An eye for an eye," he repeated, red eyes settling on Gohan. " A life for a life."

Suddenly, Gohan understood. So did everyone else. Their gasps surrounded him. They looked horrified and shocked all at once. He didn't need to look up to know that, it was from knowing them all for so long. Even Piccolo and Vegeta looked shocked, though not quite as horrified, but the two were good at masking emotions.

Gohan was now faced with an awkward decision, one that would not just affect him but everyone who'd known him. He thought about it.

_All my friends are my dad's old friends, _reasoned Gohan. _They'd all be happier to see dad standing here rather than me… especially because it's my fault he's dead… I'm such a fool! We could have avoided all this if I hadn't been so cocky…I don't think they'd like me normally anyway, it's only because I'm 'Goku's son'. Which means I'm nothing without dad…And it's my fault we're in this mess… I bet he hates me. Damn this, I'll never train again. _He paused for a moment. Everyone was staring at him, knowing he was fighting some kind of mental battle, yet they were helpless. Nothing they could do… _Can you even train in Other World? Wait, of course you can, Dad trained under King Kai, didn't he?_

He'd make his decision.

Gohan grimaced. This was the hard part. Shenron watched the boy patiently. Gohan sighed, deciding to get it over with.

"I thought about it," he said softly. "And it's worth it. Please revive my father, Son Goku. I'm willing to accept the consequences."

"WHAT?"

"GOHAN!"

"YOU CAN'T!"

Their shouts were all far too late, of course. Gohan smiled at them all. "It was nice knowing you all. Tell my mom I'm sorry…"

As he spoke, Shenron's eyes glowed red. "It has been done," he boomed. Gohan felt a strange feeling around him, then burning pain. He shrieked in pain unintentionally. Everyone stared. Total helplessness: the worst feeling in the world.

All of a sudden, Gohan just collapsed to the floor. One look at his eyes told them all they needed to know: they were totally glassy and lifeless. That was when the crying began and Gohan's body disappeared. Everyone stared at the place where he'd just lay, trying to suppress tears, except Vegeta, who just looked fiercely angry.

And then, the worst time… Goku appeared. Everyone stared at him, through blurry, teary eyes. Bulma fell to the floor, head in her hands. 'How the heck am I going to explain this?' she thought. And then, the shocker came. He was totally oblivious to what had happened.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

And at that, they all dissolved into a state of hysterics…

**A/N: Do you like it? Sorry for character death, but it had to be done. It's Dark Shenron's fault XD Anyway, please review, all you lovely people… I worked hard at this!**

**UPDATE: Guys, do you really want me to continue with this? Even though it was written as a one-shot? I guess I could continue, if you want me to…**


	2. Adjusting

Demands:

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

A/N Due to this popularity (and several people's pleas) of this fic, I've decided to make it no longer a one-shot. But please, bare in mind that chapter one _was _planned as a one-shot, so the plots going to be shaky from now onwards. If it isn't as good as chapter one, then I'm sorry, but this is the best I can do. Okay? Good!

Chapter Two:

* * *

A tired King Yema sat at his desk, staring at the kid in front of him, the one who was refusing to move. He seemed to be crying.

Now, King Yema knew who this kid was. It was Son Gohan; Goku's son. He'd told the kid that, seeing as he saved the Earth, he was allowed to keep his body and train. The kid, however, had just stared at him and said, "I really am dead…" before looking back to the floor.

There was something else about the kid, something he hadn't told him, but only because he wasn't allowed to. It wasn't his place. He didn't really understand it anyway, even if he _was _King Yema.

Gohan chose that moment to look up, choked back his tears, and flew out of King Yema's check-in station, as luck would have it, down snake way.

* * *

Goku was confused. He'd just asked what was going on, and they'd all burst into hysterics! Well, everyone except Vegeta, who was just glowering at him. Not to mention Piccolo, who'd just blasted off as soon as he arrived. Something very strange was going on… and he needed to find out what it was. He put his hand to the back of his head and laughed weakly, "Er? Guys? I don't get it." 

Bulma straightened up, rubbing her red, puffy eyes. "Goku, there's something we need to tell you, but maybe it would be best if we told Chichi and you together…"

Krillin's eyes widened. "Chichi?" he cringed, knowing full well what an angry Chichi was like.

Bulma's eyes were filled with rage as she turned to Krillin. She gritted her teeth. "Yes, _Krillin,_" she growled. "She needs to know."

"But… she'll pulverize us…"

"Well, maybe we deserve it!" yelled Bulma, unwilling to forgive herself for letting Gohan wish away his life like that, all for his father.

Yamcha was about to walk over to her, but stopped at a glower from Vegeta. "It was no one's fault, Bulma," he said softly, as compensation for being unable to go over without being blasted off the face of the Earth.

"We could have stopped him…" she whispered, more silent tears trickling steadily down her cheek. "And now… he's gone…"

By now, Goku was thoroughly confused. "Er… guys…what happened to who?" Everyone besides Vegeta jumped; they'd forgotten he was there! Now what where they going to say?

Mirai Trunks, whose face was white from losing Gohan in a second timeline, said, "We really had better tell them together."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Huh?"

* * *

Gohan reached the end of snake way before long. It was a very long way, but with his super saiyan speed it seemed like practically nothing to him. Unfortunately, at the very end of snake way was…. nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'd heard his dad say it was some kind of planet… oh yeah, King Kai's planet. But there was nothing there. All of a sudden, it clicked. "Oh… He brought Cell here…but that means King Kai must be dead!" A fresh wave of tears fell down his cheeks. It was bad enough that his father was dead thanks to his foolishness, but other people too? That was just unthinkable. He was a lousy kid. He obviously belonged in HFIL – at least, it was obvious to him. 

He looked down from the edge of snake way, down into the pit of utter nothingness. Space, perhaps? He couldn't tell. There didn't appear to be any stars about, anyway… but then again, Cell's explosion could have wiped out stars and planets for miles around. And to think; it was his fault and his alone. He could have stopped this entire thing happening, could have stopped all the bloodshed. Another tear tickled his cheek. He sighed, wiping his eyes, and sung something softly to himself. "And if one little saiyan should accidentally fall…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Dende was having a serious discussion with the Namekian Elder. "What happened to Shenron? Since when has he had the free will to do that?" 

"Since the Namekian Dragons Rights Act," replied the Namekian Elder.

Young Dende sighed. "It wasn't something I did wrong, was it? I'm not being a good guardian, am I?"

"Calm down Dende. It's nothing to do with you. Porunga is also having a certain amount more rights than he should have, so it's not just Shenron. Things will work out, I'm sure."

Dende breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I was worried they'd hurt me…" The Namekian Elder sweatdropped, but waved farewell as Dende headed back to the planet he was now Kami of.

* * *

They were now all worriedly outside the Son house. Bulma didn't even get a chance to knock before Chichi rushed out. "HE DID IT! HE DID IT!" She looked around wildly, then blinked, confused. Her eyes fell on Krillin: the guy most likely to be intimidated by her. "WHERE'S GOHAN?" 

She demanded. Goku grinned suddenly. "I knew there was something missing! That's it! Gohan! Where is he, you guys?"

His grin faded by the grim, weary looks the others gave him. "…Guys?"

Chichi tapped her foot. "Well? I'm waiting!"

Bulma sweatdropped, knowing she was the only one confident and delicate enough to let them know the bad news. She gave an extremely weak smile. "Maybe you guys had better sit down…"

* * *

A/N: Like it? I know it was short, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else without spilling too much of the plot into this chapter – all will be revealed in the third or fourth. Well, maybe not all, but more than now anyway :P There are things that need to be done and I don't want to rush the plot. 


	3. Explanations

**Demands:**

**Chapter Three:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.**

**A/N: I'm not really in the mood to update, but I will anyway because of the recent reviews. Very sorry for the delay, I've been really busy. Huge thanks to people still reading (particularly reviewers) and the people who added this to C2s. Thanks a lot. :D**

**Sorry for the shortness, hopefully I'll get the next chapter up sooner but it kind of depends on reviews, I guess (don't ask; they just seem to inspire me…) **

Somewhere up on snake way, a certain blue catfish type thing woke up, looking around.

"Er, Goku…?"

There was no sign of him; he seemed to have run off, probably looking for food. He really hoped that Goku hadn't gone and fallen in HFIL but knew that was highly unlikely.

Sighing, he turned back the way he was headed. Oh, when he saw Goku, he really was going to have to tell him off about being left alone. He spoke his thoughts out loud, and Bubbles and Gregory nodded their agreement as they retraced their steps back up snake way towards where his planet had been destroyed.

* * *

"…WHAAAAAAAAT!"

The Son household seemed to leap up off the ground, as did the trees in the surrounding area. As it fell back down, it was apparent why.

A puzzled looking Goku was holding a very angry Chichi back. Chichi was thrashing about crazily and seemed to be trying to wring Bulma's neck. Mirai Trunks was standing in front of her protectively while Chichi yelled. "MY BABY IS DEAD? That's not possible! Goku, I told you he would die! I TOLD YOU," she screamed, now turning target on her husband who looked at her sheepishly.

"But… he beat Cell, so he didn't die," muttered Goku as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Chichi considered his words for a moment, then turned around like a spitfire to face Bulma.

"Goku's right! How did he die when he was ALIVE and had beaten Cell when I last saw him?"

The others exchanged glances and they all seemed to bundle together for safety in numbers. Vegeta stayed leaning against the wall, still mad about what had happened but secretly waiting to see the woman's reaction when it was explained how her son had died.

"Bulma," Yamcha hissed, "we could have told them better than that! Now they have to find out that we let him die!"

Bulma's face turned red as she slowly turned to face Yamcha and Krillin paled, hissing, "We didn't let him do it! Okay, let's decide who tells her…"

"Yes, Yamcha," came the acidic voice of a certain blue-haired woman who was still seething with anger. "As I'm so bad at it, why don't you tell them why their son is now dead?"

His face quickly drained of all colour. "No, no, that's okay, Bulma, I'm sure you can-"

"YAMCHA, YOU CAN DO IT AND YOU CAN DO IT NOW!"

Yamcha sweatdropped. Now he'd done it, he thought nervously, staring around and clearing his throat to begin the rather stupid-seeming explanation.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan was still staring at the view from the end of snake way, his eyes smarting from tears although they had stopped by then. He was alone and terrified, he was scared of himself and the power he had shown… he knew that Cell had deserved it, but what about the innocent people who'd died from the result of so much raw power?

Teetering over the edge, Gohan stared down, wondering what would happen if he jumped into space. He couldn't die considering he was already dead…

_Yeah, _Gohan thought to himself, _me and perhaps millions of others thanks to me. The perfect hero, huh? _

Thinking of himself as a hero was too much: he started laughing uncontrollably though he couldn't figure out quite why.

He stayed laughing until the pain of it got to him and he sunk to the ground and bawled.

* * *

The room was silent except for Vegeta's quiet chuckling. Everybody else seemed to frozen, except for Chichi, who was glaring warningly at all of the unwelcome visitors.

"Um, well, we went up to wish Goku back," Yamcha begun, swallowing and backing up while he spoke, certain Chichi would go insane – they were all scared of her and for good reason, too. "But the dragon had some new… rules…" His voice had now been reduced to nothing but a squeak and he was all too aware of that fact.

"And, um, he told us the new rules and Gohan accepted…"

"And what," said a deathly silent voice that seemed very loud indeed to the others, "were these new rules?"

"Uh… GohanhadtodiesothatwecouldbringGokubacktolifewetoldhimnottobuthedidn'tlisten," Yamcha said in one breath while Chichi just stared, figuring out what he said… and then she promptly collapsed on the floor. He let out a sigh of relief.

Goku, however, was staring at him. "Gohan's dead because of _me?_"

"Cheer up, Goku," said Mirai Trunks. "I'm sure you can wish him back next year…"

Goku nodded numbly. "I'm going to lie down… after getting something to eat," he muttered, promptly going to raid the cupboards. Everyone sweatdropped apart from Vegeta, who went and helped Goku in finding food.

"Vegeta!" hissed Bulma, mortified.

He looked at her arrogantly. "What, woman? It's free food!"

Mirai Trunks and Krillin helped put Chichi on a sofa while Bulma began to yell at Vegeta.

"Let them grieve in peace!" she shouted irately at him while Vegeta looked at her scornfully and shook his head, causing Bulma to get even angrier. "Fine then! But we're leaving!" she said, dragging out the other three to her helicopter, hitting Mirai Trunks on the head when he seemed to be having second thoughts and staring at the food.

* * *

Standing up again, Gohan was tired. He stood up and almost fell forwards out into the nothingness before him…

"NO!" shouted a voice, and a hand grabbed his clothes before he fell, dragging him backwards and muttering about something. The person who'd grabbed him stopped dragging after a few paces and spun around, looking irate in quite a comical way.

Gohan, still red-eyed, stared back silently.

"…Goku?"

**A/N: Well, there you go! Sorry again for the obscene length of time this took, I'll hopefully update sooner and it'd be really great if you reviewed. ;)**


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